


Gallow's Pole

by ValarieWinchester



Series: Supernatural Chronicles [19]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-13
Updated: 2016-01-13
Packaged: 2018-05-13 12:44:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,354
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5708614
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ValarieWinchester/pseuds/ValarieWinchester
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>I took a lot of poetic justice with some mythology.  If that bothers you, I'm sorry.  I did some research and then changed it up a bit for the purpose of this story.  Also, this was probably the hardest story I've had to write because....well....let's just say my heart broke writing a scene.  And please don't hate me for it.</p>
    </blockquote>





	Gallow's Pole

**Author's Note:**

> I took a lot of poetic justice with some mythology. If that bothers you, I'm sorry. I did some research and then changed it up a bit for the purpose of this story. Also, this was probably the hardest story I've had to write because....well....let's just say my heart broke writing a scene. And please don't hate me for it.

“You’re the one that volunteered to stay home,” she said with a chuckle. “You’ll be fine. Sam and I will be back in a few hours. We just need to talk to one more person.” She listened to her husband while Sam parked the car in front of a modest house in a quiet neighborhood. “Yes, Dean, I promise to call you if anything goes south.” She could see Sam smiling out of the corner of her eyes. “Ok, babe, I gotta go. See you soon.” She hung up the phone and let out a mixed sound of amusement and aggravation.

“Are the kids wearing him out?” Sam asked. She laughed as they got out of the car.

“He is just going crazy because we’re out on the job and he’s not.” Sam rounded the front of the car and walked with her up the pathway to the front door.

“Eh, he’ll get over it. So this witness? She works with the victim?” he asked, changing subjects.

“Yeah. A fellow fitness instructor. Said she found the body in the gym as she was helping close up.” They reached the door and Sam rang the doorbell. When the door opened, Valarie heard Sam suck in a breath, but she kept her face toward the woman and kept her professional face on.

“Mrs. Williams? Hi, we’re from the FBI.” She showed her badge and looked toward Sam, who was frozen still staring at the woman. Valarie elbowed him and he cleared his throat then fumbled to get his ID.

“Sorry,” he said quietly.

“We’d like to ask you a few questions if you don’t mind?” The woman looked at the pair standing on her doorstep.

“Sure,” she said then opened the door and stepped aside offering them entrance. Valarie stepped across the threshold and turned to watch Sam timidly step into the house. After the woman closed the door, she led them into a living room and motioned for them to sit on the sofa. Valarie sat and looked around at her surroundings. There were picture frames on a table nearby holding photos of a wedding and a boy in a baseball uniform. She then turned to the woman seated in a chair opposite the sofa. She was beautiful, which might explain Sam’s odd nervousness, with long dark brown hair and big dark eyes.

“Mrs. Williams, can you tell me about what happened?” 

“I had just finished a class. My last one of the day. And I had turned off the light in the room and shut the door. I passed by the room next to me and saw what looked like a pile of clothing on the floor. After I looked around and didn’t see anyone, I thought I’d grab it and put it in lost and found. So I went into the room and the closer I got, the more I realized that it wasn’t clothes. I…” she paused. “I’m sorry. I’ve already told the police this. Is this necessary?”

“We’re just double checking in the information, Mrs. Williams.” The woman nodded.

“I understand. And please, call me Lisa,” she said and offered a small smile. Valarie offered one back.

“Ok, Lisa. What did you find?” Lisa took a deep breath.

“My co-worker, Maria. But she…she wasn’t…she was in pieces.” A phone rang and Lisa pulled a cell out of her pocket. “I’m sorry,” she said after looking at who was calling. “It’s my son.” Valarie motioned to answer it and Lisa got up and walked toward the kitchen.

“Hey, Ben,” she said before she got of earshot. Valarie looked at the pictures near hear again and, slowly, realization sank in of the gravity of this situation. She looked ahead with her eyes diverted down.

“Sam?” she asked in a whisper because she couldn’t seem to make any sound.

“Yeah?”

“Is that…?”

“Yeah.” Her heart pounded in her ears.

“Shit.”

*****

“What the hell, Sam?” Valarie said once they were safely in the car and driving away from the house. “Lisa?!” He opened his mouth but no words came out so he just shook his head. There was silence while they both contemplated the situation.

“We can’t tell Dean,” Sam said finally. Valarie looked at him with shock.

“We can’t keep this from him.” 

“Valarie…” he started.

“No,” she interrupted. “I’m not lying to him, Sam.”

“I’m not saying lie to him. But if we keep him from the case and we don’t tell him…maybe…?” he offered. She shook her head.

“And if he found out he would hate us both. No, Sam. We have to tell him.”

*****

They argued almost the entire way back to the bunker which made for a very tense hour and a half. As soon as they two of them walked into the door of the bunker they were approached by a very stressed and disheveled Dean.

“I am so fucking glad you two are back.” His voice was so full of relief and exhaustion that it almost made Valarie want to laugh.

“Tough day?” she asked.

“Dude,” he said to Sam, “your son does nothing but poop. What the fuck do you feed him?” Before Sam could answer Dean’s gaze fell to Valarie. “And I can’t even tell you how many times I had to take something out of JD’s mouth. There were things he found that I didn’t even know where they came from. Then Henry would need a change. Then I had to chase JD. Then Henry would cry. Then JD would need to use the bathroom. I only just now got them both to fucking fall asleep. Hell, monsters are easier to deal with than those two.” Valarie looked at her frazzled husband and felt a knot form in her stomach. She knew what she had to tell him but she didn’t want to add to his stress.

“So, what’d you find out with the case?” he asked, almost as if he could read her mind. She exchanged a look with Sam before speaking.

“It’s complicated,” she said carefully.

“What do you mean ‘complicated’?” His eyes darted between Valarie and Sam. She took a breath before continuing.  
“There are…things we need to tell you about this case. And…they’re not gonna be easy to hear.” He slowly shook his head in confusion.

“What’s going on? You’re scaring me, Val.”

“Dean,” Sam started. “The victim was found in a gym.” He cleared his throat. “By a yoga instructor.” Dean’s eyes stared at his brother not fully comprehending what he was saying.

“Named Lisa,” Valarie said gently. Dean’s jaw dropped slightly and he took a step back in disbelief. “Dean, I’m sorry.” He was slowly shaking his head as he backed away and then turned and left. She heard a door close and Valarie knew that he’d gone into the bedroom. She quickly shot a look at Sam before following her husband into their room. Once inside, she found him seated on the edge of the bed with his head down.

“Dean?” she asked gently. He didn’t answer and she didn’t want to push him, so she walked to the closet and started changing out of her fake FBI clothes. She had switched the skirt for a comfy pair of jeans and was unbuttoning the blouse when he finally spoked

“How was she?” His voice was strained and quiet and she knew that he was holding back tears.

“She seemed good.” She watched him and tried to gauge his reaction. His jaw clenched and he nodded.

“Good,” he said as he placed his hand over his mouth and then rubbed down his chin. There was a pause and then he stood, walked over to Valarie, kissed her temple, and then walked out of the room. She stared at the door then continued to change clothes.  
When she was finished changing, she went and quietly checked on JD and found him fast asleep. As she was closing his door, Sam appeared behind her.

“What did you say to Dean?”

“What do you mean? Why?” she asked as she turned to him.

“Because he’s gone,” he replied. “And he took the case file.”

*****

Dean  
It was a nice house. And a nice neighborhood. As he stared at the two story home across the street from where he was parked his mind flashed images. That first weekend. The birthday party where he showed up unexpected. Her taking him in after Stull Cemetery. Her eyes. Her hair. Her smile. Hell, he could even smell her perfume.

“Fuck,” he said to himself as he ran a hand down his face in an attempt to wipe away the memories. Like you wiped hers, he thought to himself as he took a drink from the small bottle of whiskey he’d stopped and bought after leaving the bunker. That was his initial plan. Hit up a liquor store and then drink himself to sleep. But once he got back in the car, he just drove. It wasn’t until he parked the Impala across from Lisa’s house that he even realized where he was. He just sat there and watched the house. He’d told himself he was just making sure she was safe, but he knew that was a lie. He wanted to see her.  
After the hospital and having Cas wipe her memories, he’d kept tabs on Lisa and Ben. Not because he was ever going to show up and try again. He just wanted to make sure that they were safe and happy. However, after Valarie died and then came back he hadn’t looked Lisa up. He didn’t even know that she’d gotten married. Hell, she hadn’t even crossed his mind in at least a year. When Valarie told him that she was involved in this case, his stomach dropped. She was in trouble and he felt that need to protect her again. But she didn’t have any idea who he was. It wasn’t like he could just walk up to the door and say hi. So he sat. And waited. And tried to think of a plan.

“Hello, Dean.” The voice that came from the backseat scared the shit out of him.

“Jesus Christ!” He turned and looked at the angel seated behind him in the Impala. “Cas, man, seriously. How about a warning call or something?” Cas looked down as a sign of apology.

“I’m sorry.” Dean took another drink from the bottle before speaking again.

“Let me guess. Valarie told you where to find me?”

“She did mention that you might be here. She and Sam are worried about you.” Dean didn’t respond, just pulled another drink from the bottle. “Dean…”

“I’m fine,” he finally replied, still looking toward the house.

“No, Dean, you’re not ‘fine.’ Just because you say it doesn’t mean it’s true. You’re worried.”

“Of course I’m fucking worried. I had you wipe their memories of me and everything I do so they would be safe from this shit. They don’t deserve to know about all this. They deserve to be happy.” Suddenly, the front door of the house opened and there she was. Dean inhaled a breath and watched her as she walked to her car and opened the door. She retrieved something from inside of the car and then walked back into the house. Once the door was closed, Dean exhaled the breath he didn’t realize he was holding.

“Dean,” Cas started.

“Shut up,” he said quickly before opening the door to the Impala.

“Where are you going?” But Cas received no reply. Dean closed the door and hurried across the street. Before he knew it, he was on the front porch standing in front of the door with his hand raised to knock. “Dean,” Cas said quietly as a warning that this isn’t a good idea. Ignoring him, Dean knocked on the door. His stomach was in knots and he felt like he was shaking. The door opened and his breath caught in his throat.

“Can I help you?” she asked after a moment. Her eyes narrowed as she looked at Dean. He cleared his throat.

“I, um, I’m sorry to bother you,” he started. “You just…I thought…” He looked into her eyes and realized that he didn’t know what to say. She looked at him and then Cas waiting for a reason that these two strangers were at her door. Finally Dean found a voice. “I’m sorry, I thought you were someone else.” She looked at him for a moment before she said anything.

“Do I know you?” Again, Dean inhaled and waited. There was an awkward silence between the group as Lisa tried to figure out who these two were and Dean tried to decide what to say.

“For heaven’s sake,” Cas, finally said, as he took a step toward Lisa and raised two fingers to her head.

“Cas, no,” Dean insisted, but it was too late. Cas laid his fingers on her forehead. Her eyes closed and she jumped. There was silence as they waited. Lisa opened her eyes and looked at them, recognition shining in her eyes.

“Dean?”

“Hey, Lis.”

*****

Valarie

All she could do was wait. Dean had gone and she knew where he would be, but she refused to intrude. Lisa was a huge part of his past and she knew that he still cared for her. She sat at the table and thought about everything going on in their lives. Sam had been furious with her that she didn’t run after Dean and try to keep him from making a mistake. Valarie knew that running after him would only cause a problem between the two of them. So she gave him time and space. A part of her also knew that Cas was with Dean and he would inform her if anything were to happen. So she waited. And researched on the case, trying to find out what it was they were hunting. So far, two women had been dismembered. Sam had pulled several lore books and files that were in the library of the Men of Letters. 

“I don’t get it,” Sam said, and her attention snapped back to the present. “You just let him go and didn’t go after him.” She sighed.

“Sam, we’ve been through this. He needs space. And I did send Cas after him. If I went, he wouldn’t talk to me about it. He won’t until he’s ready. Come on, Sam, you know him better than anyone. You know I’m right.” He sat there quietly and she knew that she won. He wouldn’t admit to her that she was right, but his face showed it. They went back to reading, but a flutter of wings and the sudden appearance of Cas interrupted their concentration.

“Cas,” Sam said as a greeting. “What are you doing here, man?” 

“I need you both to come with me right now.” Valarie stared at him.

“Cas, we can’t just up and leave anymore. There are kids that have to be taken care of first.” Cas huffed out an annoyed breath before walking over to Sam and laying a hand on him. Very suddenly they were gone. Valarie looked around. “Sam? Cas?” She stood up and walked toward the hallway before she heard a flutter of wings. She turned back and saw both men standing near the table.

“Both children are with your parents.” Valarie was speechless as she looked at Cas first then Sam.

“Yeah, uh, Kathy was a bit surprised when I knocked on the door.”

“What the fuck, Cas?” Valarie exclaimed. “You can’t just send Sam to my mother’s house with the kids with no explanation.”

“It’s not as if I could send you,” he said. Valarie’s parent’s had moved closer to the bunker and the group had quickly set to warding the house against everything, angels included. Which, of course, meant that Valarie couldn’t even set foot on her parent’s porch. A small price to pay for their safety.

“That’s not the point,” she replied.

“Look, we can stand here arguing all night or you two can come with me. It’s important.” His words sunk in and Valarie drew a shaky breath.

“Is Dean okay?” she asked.

“Yes. For now. But I know what we’re dealing with and we need to hurry.”

*****

“Gorgons?” Sam asked with disbelief. They were situated in a room of a motel that, apparently, Dean had already checked in to as his bag was on the bed where Valarie was seated. He, however, was nowhere to be found. “Like Medusa?”

“Wait,” Valarie said. “I thought they turned people to stone and had snakes for hair. That’s not what we’ve seen in any of the victims.”

“Once again, your translations have proved to be incorrect. When a person looks directly into the eyes of a Gorgon, yes, they are turned to stone. However, if that gaze is found in a reflection or obstructed by some other object, the outcome can be different.”

“That would explain the victim at the gym,” Valarie suggested. “The entire front of that room was a big mirror. If the Gorgon came in behind her, the victim would have seen a reflection.”

“Exactly,” Cas said. “And it is thought that Gorgon’s are created out of violent acts. Medusa, for example, was once a very beautiful woman. Your scholars will tell you that she was raped by Poseidon in the temple of Athena and the goddess was so angry that she turned Medusa into a monster with snakes for hair and eyes that would turn a man into stone. While that is only mostly true, it does prove how a Gorgon came to be.”

“So, we find a woman that died a horrible death?” Valarie guessed.

“She may not have even died,” Cas added.

“Well, that’s gonna make things so much easier,” Valarie quipped. Before anyone could say anything else, the door to the room opened and Dean walked in, freezing just inside the doorway when he saw everyone in his room. His eyes darted around the room at Cas, Sam and finally fell on Valarie. She held his gaze in silence.

“Well, I’m gonna go look up….things and see what I find,” Sam said, trying to break the tension and also trying to find a way to get out of the room. “Cas, wanna give me a hand?” Cas was silent looking back and forth between Dean and Valarie. Sam nudged him with his hand.

“Oh, uh, sure.” The two quickly made their exit, closing the door to the room behind them. Valarie and Dean never looked away from one another.

“Hi,” Valarie said quietly. Dean, finally dropped his eyes and moved to the dresser where he deposited his keys. 

“Hi,” he said back while he busied himself with taking his wallet out of his pocket and placed it next to the keys. Valarie expected anger in his face, but she was surprised to find sadness when he finally turned back to face her.

“Did you see her?” she asked carefully. His gaze fell to the floor and he gave a small nod. Her eyes fell to the floor and she took a deep breath. She didn’t know what to say to him. She wasn’t angry that he’d gone to seek out his ex-girlfriend. How could she be when not that long ago the roles were reversed somewhat?

“Cas restored her memories,” he said quietly.

“Oh.” Her heart sank. “I see.” She could feel the tears burning the back of her eyes. She stood and walked to the door. “I’ll just go then.”

“Where are you going?” he asked and took a couple of steps toward her.

“I think I should get my own room,” she said, keeping her back to him.

“Valarie, nothing happened between me and Lisa tonight,” he said, his voice raising in alarm. Valarie paused then turned to look at him.

“I’m not angry, Dean.” He stared at her while she tried to refused to meet his eyes. “Maybe this is a blessing.” He took another step closer to her and she stepped back, her back bumping into the door.

“Look at me,” he said.

“I know you love Lisa,” she said, keeping her gaze down, “and now that she has her memories back, you two can…” Her mouth couldn’t speak the words, so she shrugged as her emotions started rising in her throat. She fought back a sob.

“Look at me,” he said again, taking another step closer.

“She’s human,” Valarie continued, still not meeting his eyes, “and I’m not. She can give you…I can’t…” The tears were flowing freely now and talking was becoming increasingly difficult.

“Valarie,” he pleaded quietly, “look at me.” He took another step to her and was right in front of her now. She finally raised her head and saw his eyes staring back at her, his face full of pain and fear. He slowly reached and cupped her cheek with one hand and wiped the tears with his thumb. “You’re right. I do still care for Lisa. I think I always will. But the love I had for her is gone. I am in love with you. You are my wife. You are the one that I want to spend the rest of my life with.” A sob escaped her mouth.

“Dean, I can’t give you….” He placed his other hand on her other cheek.

“Shhh…” he said to calm her. “I don’t care what you think you can’t give me. Ok? I want you. Only you.” His words finally sank in and she broke down into tears. He pulled her to his body and wrapped his arms around, one hand holding the back of her head and the other arm wrapped around her waist. Her face buried into chest as she sobbed. “Shh, angel.” He just held her while she cried. They stood there in the same spot for what seemed like forever before her sobs finally eased. She lifted her head and looked up to his face. His eyes were red and she knew that he had also cried, even if he would never admit it to her.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered, but he shook his head.

“Angel, you don’t have to apologize.” He leaned in and kissed her gently, then rested his forehead on hers. “Just promise me that you’ll never try to leave me like that again.” His eyes were closed.

“I promise,” she replied and she felt the relief sag through his body.

*****

The next morning a phone ringing woke Valarie woke up and she discovered that she was still cradled in Dean’s arms. After her near freak-out they had settled on the bed on top of the comforter and he just held her as he told her about his visit with Lisa. He informed her that they had talked about everything from their break-up to his marriage. He also told her that he’d given Lisa his number in case anything happened to her or Ben and they needed help. They talked long into the night before they both dropped off from exhaustion. Reluctantly, she pulled away from Dean and reached for the phone. Sam’s name showed on the display and she answered.

“Couldn’t wait any longer, Sam?” she asked in a sleepy voice.

“I actually waited as long as I could to call you guys. There’s been another victim.” She sat up. “I just left the morgue and it’s exactly like the gym victim. I’m headed back to you guys so you might want to make sure that you’re both decent.” 

“It’s fine, Sam. Hurry back.” She disconnected the call and turned toward Dean who was still sleeping. She leaned down to him and kissed his cheek.

“Dean, you need to wake up.” He groaned and scrunched his face.

“Don’t want to.”

“I know but Sam’s on his way here. There’s another victim.”

“Dammit,” he grumbled as he rolled to the side of the bed and sat up. They brushed their teeth and straightened up as much as they could before a knock sounded on their door. Dean answered it and Sam and Cas both walked in.

“So we may have narrowed down the source of the Gorgon,” Sam said, not even stopping to say hello. He walked straight to the table in the room and placed his laptop down. He opened it and woke it up to show a news article about a local woman.

“Gorgon?” Dean asked. “What the fuck?” Sam finally stopped and looked at them.

“I take it Valarie didn’t fill you in on that?”

“No, uh, we had more important things to, uh, discuss,” he said, glancing back at her. 

“Dean, honestly, I don’t care to hear about your sex life.”

“What?” he said, turning back to Sam. “No, we didn’t even do that, perv.”

“Fine. Whatever. Look,” Sam said, pointing at the article on the computer, “I think this is our best bet.” They closed in and read the article. It was about a married woman whose husband had apparently cheated on her with several different people. When she finally confronted him about it, he had attacked her and sexually assaulted her then killed her. The authorities were looking for him.

“Shit,” Valarie said.

“Yeah,” Sam agreed. “There’s more. All of the victims…they were the women that he’d slept with.”

“Then we find out who all he banged and we’ll figure out where she’s headed next,” Dean said.

“That’s where it gets difficult,” Sam said. “Apparently, he’s still out there and probably still…doing his thing. There’s no way to tell how many women he’s been with.” Dean’s phone started ringing. He looked at the display, then answered it while stepping away from the others.

“Lisa?” Sam looked at Valarie to gauge her reaction. She caught Sam’s expression, offered him a small smile, and went back to reading the article to see if there was anything she’d missed. The last thing she wanted to do was eavesdrop on Dean’s conversation. However, that became almost impossible when his voice started raising.

“Get in your car and come here. Right now. Do you understand?” All eyes in the room were on him and he turned toward them as he hung up the phone. “Well…I think we might be able to know where she’s gonna strike next.” The group sat in silence and waited. Ten minutes later, there was knock on the door. Dean rushed and opened it, finding Lisa on the other side. She took a tentative step inside and looked at all the faces pointed her way.

“Are you ok?” Dean asked. She nodded.

“Hey, Sam,” she said.

“Lisa,” he said as a greeting. Her eyes fell on Valarie and she gave a small smile.

“You must be Valarie. Dean’s told me so much about you.” Valarie offered a small smile back.

“He’s told me all about you as well.”

“Lisa,” Dean said, getting her attention back, “tell everyone what happened.” He leaned against the dresser and Valarie sat on the corner of the bed. Lisa took a deep breath and sat in the chair closest to her.

“I got a weird phone call this morning. It was a number I didn’t recognize, but I answered it. There was a woman’s voice on the other end. She said ‘You’re a homewrecker. I know all about it. Keep your eyes open.’ Then the call just disconnected. That’s when I called Dean. What the hell is going on?” The group looked around not knowing what to say.

“Lisa,” Valarie said finally, “have you been seeing anyone recently?”

“No,” she said. “Not really.”

“What do you mean ‘not really’, Lisa?” Dean asked. She took a breath.

“After my husband died, my friend, Maria, tried to get me back out there. She set me up with this guy. We had dinner. But halfway through it felt wrong. I wasn’t ready. So, I politely told him and excused myself. I never saw him again.”

“Maria from the gym” Valarie asked and Lisa nodded.

“Did he look like this?” Sam asked as he turned the computer around to her. She looked at the picture in the article.

“That’s him. But his name was different.” She read the article. “Oh my God,” she breathed out as she read. “You think this has something to do with that phone call?” she asked.

“We do.” Sam said.

“Where’s Ben?” Dean asked.

“He’s with a friend. He should be home by midnight. Oh, God, do you think…?”

“No,” Valarie interrupted, trying to calm the woman, “we haven’t seen any children or other family members get harmed. Only women that have had an association with that man. I’m pretty sure Ben is safe.” Valarie could see relief wash over Lisa’s face.

“Ok, you should tell us everything you know about this guy so we can maybe find him and get to the bottom of all this,” Dean said. “Then we should go find him. Someone’s gonna have to stay here with Lisa, though. Cas?” He looked at his friend.

“Dean, is it wise that I stay behind? This Gorgon can turn a man to stone with one look. And who knows what can happen with an indirect gaze. I’m not human. I may be your best weapon against her.”

“He has a point, Dean,” Sam argued.

“I’ll stay,” Valarie offered. Dean looked at her.

“No,” he refused.

“Dean, it’s like Cas said. I’m half not-human. I’ve got a little something extra to fight with.”

“Valarie is right, Dean,” Cas said. “She should be able to withstand the gaze better than others.”

“Fine,” he growled out, obviously upset at the situation. He paced a small circle and took a deep breath before he turned back to Lisa. “What can you tell us?”

*****

The two women sat in the room in an uncomfortable silence. It had been an hour since the guys had left and there had only been a handful of words spoken between Valarie and Lisa. Finally, Valarie couldn’t’ stand the silence any longer.

“I’m sorry about your husband,” she offered.

“Thank you,” she replied. “It’s been a couple of years, but it still hurts, you know.” There was silence again. Valarie wanted to ask, but knew it would be rude. Lisa, sensing the tension, spoke. “Aneurysm. We’d only been married a year.”

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have even brought it up,” Valarie said.

“No, it’s ok,” Lisa replied. She tried to change the subject. “Dean told me that the two of you have a son.”

“Yes,” Valarie smiled. “His name is JD.”

“I’ll bet he’s adorable,” Lisa said with a smile.

“He’s a handful,” Valarie corrected with a chuckle. “He’s walking now which is terrifying.” Both women shared a small laugh. “But he’s perfect.” A small appeared on both faces.

“I remember when Ben started walking he always did this little bounce before he took his first steps. No matter where he was going. Before that first step, bounce.” 

“JD does that,” Valarie said. “I thought he was the only one.” She laughed as the smile left Lisa’s face, leaving a look of sadness. When Valarie noticed the look on Lisa’s face, she stopped laughing. “Lisa, what’s wrong?”

“I’m such an idiot,” she said as a tear fell.

“Hey,” Valarie said as she got up and crossed to Lisa. She sat next to her and put her arm around her shoulder. “We’re gonna get this thing, ok.” Lisa turned her face away from Valarie. “I promise.”

“That’s not it.” Lisa turned to look at Valarie. “I’ve been lying about something for years.” Before she could say anything else, several things happened at once. The door burst open and Lisa froze. Valarie turned to see a woman standing in the doorway. She quickly glanced back at Lisa, frozen completely in the same position she had been and noticed that her face was toward a mirror that reflected the door. Valarie turned back toward the woman, avoiding direct contact with the eyes and lunged for her. The woman, however, was very quick and dodged out of the way before Valarie could get her.

“Why aren’t you frozen?” she demanded to Valarie. Instead of answering, Valarie once again tried to attack the woman. This time the woman got a hold of Valarie and threw her across the room into the table which collapsed when she hit it. Valarie was face down on the floor and felt her hair being pulled to lift her head. She closed her eyes, but the woman forced them open with her free hand. Valarie caught a quick glance of the woman’s eyes and she felt her body stiffen. She was still breathing but she couldn’t move her limbs.

“There. That’s better,” the woman said as she slowly let go of Valarie. “I don’t want to hurt you. You’re not one of them.” She walked over to Lisa but still spoke to Valarie. “What are you? You’re not the others. They froze so easily, just looking at me. Didn’t even have to look at my eyes. But you…you’re special.” She reached out and touched Lisa’s hair.

“Stop,” Valarie managed to say which caused the woman to revert her attention back to Valarie.

“So you can still speak? That has never happened before.” Valarie could slowly wiggle her toe in her shoe. Her body was slowly regaining movement. She just needed to keep the woman talking.

“Why are you doing this?”

“Because this slut fucked my husband,” the woman said with a look of disgust toward Lisa. 

“She didn’t. It was a misunderstanding. She went to dinner with him but left halfway through. Nothing happened.”

“Oh, is that what she told you? Of course she would try to make herself look innocent. But that other lying slut, Maria, even introduced them.”

“You’re saying Maria slept with your husband?”

“I walked in on them.” She walked back over to Lisa and took in the sight of the frozen woman seated on the bed. “Wanna know what happened to him?” she asked with an evil smile. Valarie didn’t answer, instead she slowly and slightly wiggled her fingers. “He actually did turn to stone. He’s at the bottom of the lake where one will ever find him. But them,” she said, again running her fingers through Lisa’s hair, “I do something special with them. Wanna see?” Her hands ran down and landed on Lisa’s left arm. With a smile on her lips, she tugged once and Lisa’s arm came off with a horrifying sound.

“No!”

“You know what makes it even better?” the woman asked, dropping the arm and moving to the other arm. “They’re alive in there. They can feel everything.” The woman threw her head back and laughed as she pulled the other arm off. Valarie spied the machete poking out from under the bed and she knew this was it and hoped that her body was ready. She leapt up and ran toward the woman, bending down to grab the machete. Apparently, surprise was on her side because before the woman could even react, the blade cut through the woman’s neck and her head rolled off to the ground, followed by the body. Lisa’s body fell down onto the bed and she screamed. Valarie rushed to her.

“Lisa!” She gathered her up into her arms and held her. She placed two fingers onto Lisa’s forehead to heal her. Nothing happened. “What?” She tried again and, again, nothing happened. “No.” She couldn’t heal her. “Cas!” she yelled, hoping that the angel could hear her. “No, no, no,” she pleaded as Lisa started relaxing. “Stay with me, Lisa. Help’s coming. Stay with me.” Lisa fell still, her eyes still open and she caught Valarie’s gaze. Her mouth moved, but she was so quiet Valarie couldn’t hear anything. “Don’t try to talk. Stay with me.”

“Ben…Ben…” she whispered. Valarie looked at the blood and knew that Lisa was losing too much. She prayed for Cas to get there quickly. 

“Val…” Lisa whispered, bringing Valarie’s attention back to the woman lying in her arms. Her eyes were closing.

“Stay with me!”

“Ben…” she said quietly. “I lied….about….his….dad….” Lisa’s eyes closed and her head rolled to the side as Valarie felt the breath leave her body.

“No,” she said quietly, gently shaking the body in her arms. “No! Lisa?” She couldn’t see through the tears in her eyes. A very primal scream erupted from her chest and the lights in the room brightened in intensity, a few of them blowing out. Suddenly, there was a flutter of wings.

“Valarie?” Cas was there.

“Cas! Help her! Heal her! I can’t….” He rushed to her and placed his fingers on Lisa’s forehead. Once again, nothing happened. Cas stared in grief.

“I can’t heal her,” he replied, sadly. He reached out and gently grabbed Lisa to lay her down on the bed, but Valarie didn’t move. It was then that Cas noticed the beheaded woman on the floor. Silently, he bent down to the body and touched it. A bright light appeared then disappeared, along with the body. He did the same with the head. As he was standing, the door burst open and Dean ran in. Valarie turned to him and stood. His eyes were scanning the damage of the room before they settled on Valarie. He gasped to see her covered in blood. She took two steps toward him and he rushed to her, crushing her to his body. 

“Are you okay?” The words croaked out of him as if he had no breath. Her head nodded against his body.

“I’m so sorry, Dean. I couldn’t…” His eyes finally fell on the bed where Lisa lay motionless. He glanced up at Cas, who opened his mouth as if to speak then closed it again and looked down. There were no words needed. His arms tightened on his wife and he buried his face into her neck.

*****

The good thing about having an angel with you is that they can be handy when it comes to cleaning. Cas had the room back in shape in no time. Dean and Valarie, however, were now in Sam’s room because she couldn’t stand to be in the room where she failed to save Lisa, so Sam switched with them. She didn’t speak to anyone as she closed the door to the bathroom. Later, after she showered and cleaned up, she came out to discover that there were fresh clothes laid out for her. She didn’t question them, just put them on and sat on the edge of the bed, back to Dean who had settled on the bed with his back resting on the headboard. 

“Dean, I…”

“Don’t,” he stopped her, quietly. “This isn’t your fault, Valarie.”

“I tried.”

“I know you did.” There was more silence. Valarie knew that he was mourning someone that he cared about. Dean knew that Valarie was blaming herself for not being able to save Lisa. Neither of them knew what to say. Valarie cleared her throat before speaking again.

“She, um…she said something to me before she…” She could not say the word. The mattress shifted as Dean sat up and leaned toward his wife.

“What did she say?” She turned her body so she could face Dean.

“She said that she lied about Ben’s dad. I don’t know…” Valarie let her words trail off as she watched Dean’s expression. His face went from listening and trying to understand to almost panic as he turned to see the time on the bedside clock.

“We gotta go,” he said as he stood abruptly and made his way to the door. He turned to see Valarie still seated on the bed. “Come on,” he urged. They made their way out of the room and down a few doors. Dean knocked and Sam answered. “We gotta go. You and Cas get in the car.”

*****

They heard the key in the lock and watched as the door opened and Ben Braeden stepped inside quietly. He was past curfew, only by a few minutes, but didn’t want to announce that fact. After shutting the door and locking it, he turned to see four strangers standing in his house.

“Who the hell are you?” he asked, frozen in the spot. Cas stepped forward and placed two fingers on the teen’s forehead. Ben closed his eyes and shook his head. When he opened his eyes again, he looked around at the faces in his living room, until his eyes fell on one very familiar face.

“Dean?” he asked, surprised.

“Hey, kiddo,” Dean replied with sadness in his voice. Ben rushed over and hugged the man that he hadn’t seen in so many years.

“Oh, my God. It’s so good to see you.” He looked around again and noticed Sam, who he had only met a couple of times, but the others he had never seen before. He pulled back from Dean. “What’s going on?” Dean looked at Cas.

“Cas, is he?” There was an unspoken question lingering. Ben looked back and forth between Dean and the other man. Cas nodded.

“He is, Dean.” Dean took a deep breath and nodded. Finally, Ben noticed that someone was missing from this group.

“Dean, where’s my mom?” he asked slowly. There was a pause before Dean spoke.

“Why don’t you go upstairs, kiddo?” He cleared his throat before continuing. “We, uh…we need to talk.” The color drained from Ben’s face, but he slowly nodded and turned. The group watched as Ben walked up the stairs, then Valarie turned her attention to Dean. He took a deep breath before following Ben.

*****

It was an hour, at least, before Dean came downstairs again. His eyes were red.

“How is he doing?” Sam asked when Dean reached the living room. He sat next to Valarie on the sofa.

“Well, there was a lot of ‘fuck you’ and then silence. Hell, he even hit me. I don’t know. He’s…he’s hurt. You know, he’s lost the only parent he’s ever had.”

“He has you now,” Valarie said. Dean leaned forward, placing his elbows on his knees and rested his head in his hands.

“I know,” he said, his hands rubbing down his face. “God, what kind of parent can I even be to this kid?” 

“Dean,” Sam said, “you have always loved Ben as if he were your own. Now we know he is. Thanks to Cas.” The angel had been able to tell from the moment he laid eyes on Ben that he and Dean shared DNA.

“I just don’t understand why Lisa would lie about it for all this time,” Dean said.

“It doesn’t matter,” Valarie offered. “You know the truth now and that’s all that matters. Ben’s gonna need you, Dean. I know he’s angry right now and he’s confused, but sooner or later, he’s gonna need you. And I think you’re gonna need him, too.” Dean slowly nodded.

“You’re right,” he agreed. “It doesn’t matter. What does matter is that Ben is my son and I will do whatever I need to for him.” He looked at the faces of his family. “You guys should go. Go back to the motel and get some sleep. I’m gonna stay here.” Sam nodded and stood. He walked over to his brother and grabbed his shoulder as a sign of affection before heading toward the door.

“Do you want me to stay?” Valarie asked.

“It’s ok,” he said quietly. “You should try to get some rest. I’m just gonna sit here in case he decides he wants to talk or anything.” She nodded, leaned over to him and placed her lips on his temple. “I’ll see you tomorrow, angel,” he said to her. She joined Sam and Cas by the door before turning back to Dean once more. She mouthed the words ‘I love you’ to him and he offered her a small smile in return. As she closed the door behind her, she knew that their lives were never going to be the same again.

**Author's Note:**

> I've had the idea of this story for a really long time. I really wanted Ben to be Dean's son for real. I also really liked the character of Lisa, so killing her was very sad for me. 
> 
> This might be the last story in this series for a little while. Mostly because I'm blocked on a direction to take now as it's changed so much from where I originally wanted to go with it. But also because I have some other stories that I want to write as well that are not for this series. But I will be back to this series as soon as I can. Thank you so much for reading and following along.


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